Chattisgarh is one of the eminent rural states of India. The union of tribal and non tribal culture, the harmonization of eastern and western art as a result of the British imperialism has added an articulation in the rich ethnicity and culture of Chattisgarh.There was an intermingling of tribal and non- tribal culture , especially in the Baster region and for this reforms of the 17th century , peasant revolts were duly responsible. In spite of this, Hindu culture, with due emphasis of Ram cult, is widely prevalent and also is growing in leaps and bounds over the years.

Chattisgarh has a heritage of robust culture. It has a treasure of enriched festivals, music cuisine, and lifestyle.

Music & Dance
Traditional music and dance are performed with joy and merriment down the generations and thus become an integral part of the social traditions and also becomes an undeniable element of the rich culture of Chattisgarh These are also a source of recreation and entertainment for the regional folks. The admirers of these desi music and dance forms are pretty huge in number; their enchanting rhythm and melodies mesmerized them and they made frequent visits to this area. Pandwani is the musical narrative of the Mahabharata .Teejan Bhai the Padmashree awardee, is a renowned Pandwani artist who has hypnotized us with her unique style of dancing. The name of Ritu Verma is also familiar to us. Also Soowa dance form , the Panthi and the folk dance of shepherds namely "Raut Nacha are noteworthy. The dance styles ballets and comical plays, too, are in vogue. The people of this region love colours. They deck up with very colourful dresses while performing. Pandwani singing, bharthari and chandeni are famous forms of music from Chhattisgarh. It is striking that for every joyful occasions songs were composed; Sohar songs are connected to birth of the child, to fete weddings, Bihav songs are composed. The main components of Bihav songs are Chulmati, Telmati, Maymouri, Nahdouri, Parghani, Bhadoni . There are other songs for special occasions of marriage like Bhanver, Dowery and Vidai songs. Pathoni songs are the somgs hummed at the time of departure of bride to groom`s residence. Loriya & acting songs of child are Dandi Pouha, Loriya, Fugdi, Kau-Mau, Chau-Mau, Khuduwa (Kakdi), In Chattisgarh , folk songs like Fag (songs for spring ), Baramasi (12 months), Sawnahi (songs of rainy seasons) are composed to commemorate seasons .

Melodious songs were composed for various festivals. These are Cher-Chera songs , (celebrating growth of new crops, child songs), Dohe of Rout Nacha , Sua songs are sung at the time of Diwali jamboree.

Territorial folk melodies are Goura songs , sung during the adorations of Shivji & Parvati in Dipawali, Mata Seva songs, songs of Nagpanchami, Janvara songs, Bhojali songs, Dhankul songs. Danda songs ,Karma songs, & Dewar songs are purely amusement songs.

Festivals
Various festivals and fairs that are celebrated in Chhatisgarh reflect the traditional culture of Chattisgarh. Through out the year the people of Chhatisgarh are busy celebrating various festivals in full vigor.

Dusshera is one of the important festivities, especially in Bastar region.Like any other state of Indian subcontinent the people fete it with exuberance , it varies in its commemorative theme. It is no longer a celebration to mark the occasion of victorious coming back of Lord Rama in his hometown of Ayodhya. The Baster residents, mainly belonging to the tribal communities, these days celebrate it in worshipping goddess Danteswar the festival is celebrated through out Chattisgarh. Another festival namely Madai is feted in pomp and grandeur in various villages stretching from Baster to Mandla provinces of Bihar. In Bastar , Gond tribes celebrate this festival in high spirit . By gathering under the shed of a holy tree , myriads of devotees guillotine the goats as a mark of sacrifice to the goddess. Huge fiesta is being followed after that. Among the Bhil tribes Bhagoriya Festival is immensely popular . They worship the dance god called Bhagoriya. This is the joyful festival where young girls and boys dance and convey their feelings of love for each other. On the day of Raksha Bandhan , Chhatishgarhis celebrate Kajari Festival. Hariyali heralds the celebration of rich harvest time. It is held in monsoon season where the peasants revere the cows and the farming tools . Hanging threads of leaves of neem trees is done to remove all evil forces and pray for hefty crops. Charta festival , the festivals for tribes of Chattisgarhi , commence with the collection of rice from the huts of every villager by the children. Married women cook rice on the banks of the rivers and ponds . Meanwhile all the other men and women of the village spent time in singing and dancing and waiting ,holding their breathes, for the delicious food to be dished out .

Navakhana is the festival marking robust harvesting . It starts with the offer of reaped rice to the gods of the family on the day of Navami . Rampant drinking and dancing goes on throughout the night.

Surhul festival is committed to the reverence of `Mother Earth`. It takes place at the time when `Sal` trees are in full bloom. The villagers pray at a small forest in the vallage locality called Sarna and for the day the fields remain unscratched.

Goncha Festival at Jagdalpur is the chariot festival in Chhattisgerh. The tribes from several region of Bastar participate. It is feted in the month of July , at the time of Rath Yatra. The tribal communities make use of bamboo `tukki` and fruit `goncha` and apply them as weapons.

Other important festivals of Chhatisgarh include Kora , Chaitrai, Hariyali, Gouri-Goura, Surti, Pola, Teeja, Navakhana, Deepavali, Holi, Govardhan Pooja, Mati Puja, Charta and Navakhani.

Many colorful fairs also are organized . Bhoramdeo Maotsav is held in the month of March in the premises of Bhoramdeo temples constructed by King Ramachandra of Nag Dynasty.

Cuisine
The cuisine of Chhatisgarhis follows the typical Oriental style. They are prone towards using lots of spices, flavors and aroma in their food. The typical culture of Chattisgarh ideally unfolds the fact that garam masala is a spice mixture widely prevalent in this area and in fact they can not think of preparing meals without adding handful of oil, cream, ghee, butter and `dalda` into them. Sunflower and canola are mostly used vegetable oils used in the cooking. Rice, bread, `rotis` are commonly savored by the people. Wheat, jowar, bazra are the staple food for the people. The Chhatisgarhis are also fond of typical non- vegetarion items like chicken, eggs, meat. Especially the tribes, relish chicken, mutton, beaf without roasting or grinding. An energizer `Sattu` and a fast food `Litti`or `Choka` are common eatables for the tribal communities.

Different preparations of dals (lenthils) are cooked along with brinjal, potatoes, gourd, pumpkin and many green vegetables like cabbages, ladies finger, spinach. Pickles and `chutneys` are part and parcel of the cuisine of Chhatisgarhis. Most people have developed a taste for Arhar dal. Another common dish is `Bafauri` which is cooked from `Chana dal`..

There is a wide variety of sweet delicacies available for the people. Jalebi is hot- favourite to the people. Most favourite sweets of Chhatisgarh include `Laktho`, `Khurma`, `Balushahi`, `Anarasa`, `Khaja`, `Ladoo`, `Rasgulla`. Besides, Khaja, Kala Jamun, Peda and sumptuous halwas are indispensable for the sweet-lovers. A traditional sweet dish Maipua is prepared from flour, milk, sugar, ` mauri`. These mouthwatering delicacies gratify the hunger lust of Chhatisgarhis.

Lifestyle
The appeal of the region`s scenic beauty attract tourists from all over India. The green forests, scenic hills , meandering rivers , beautiful villages of tribal folks are noteable features of the region, thus making it, an ideal abode of eco-tourism. Being the birth place of kingdoms of royal dynasties like Mauryas , it is the ideal place for the historians and sociologists to explore. It is a place of marvelous temples and architectural wonders and all offers an eloquent diction to the rich culture of Chattisgarh. All these factors initiated the State Government to raise the tourism industry of the state. In Raipur , the capital of the state, Hotel Madhuban and Hotel Mayura were constructed. Besides, there is a line of Heritage hotels in Chhatisgarh. The exotic royal palaces, thus , are converted to luxuriant hotels, incorporating all modern amenities to the tourists. Palaces like Kawardha , Kankaer are the illustrious examples enmeshing both graceful hospitality and glances of Indian regal inheritance . Due to the close proximity to the tribal communities the tourists can also enjoy to their hearts` content, the wonderful and pleasant aspects of tribal society. The restaurants had an ample supply of multi-ethnic food : Chinese, continental, Indian, Mughlai.

In the region of Chhatisgarh , women occupies a high status with ample freedom, independence and power. Although they have had early marriages, they are binded by less compulsion and can even nullify the marriages at their will. There are many temples temples which the power of women namely Mahamaya, Shabari are revered. The people of the region speaks Chattisgarhi , a type of Hindi language . To cope up requirements of the contemporary society , the people are getting accustomed with the contemporary trends and accordingly incorporating modifications in the language formation. Being the national language of India, the people of Chhatisgarh use Hindi for used for official purposes Interestingly , a whole of 93 state languages of Chhatisgarh belong to main linguistic groups of India. These are Munda, Indo- European and Dravidian. Local dialects are written in Devangiri script . Korku, Kharia and Korba are main Munda accents used in Chhattisgarh. Other the dialects used by tribes like Agariya, Binjhwari, Panka, Dindwar and many other tribals are integrated. Sadri is the a popular dialect used by different tribal communities.

The region is highly acclaimed for its artifacts like the ornamental wood pieces, bamboo furniture , wood idols ,clay pieces, etc. Chhatisgarh is land of green forests and the tribal populace is skilled in preparing decorative items from fine teaks and other kinds of wood. In baster region terracotta handicrafts are excellent . These are created from the fine clay of the banks of Indravati river . The Bastar tribals are also renowned in creating bell metal arts that are forged by hand through the vaporising vax technic. Various handiworks like elephent, deer , horses etc of different sizes are created . The chhatisgarhi tribes created bamboo crafts like table mats ,wall hangings , table lamps , etc . Indian urabinites had developed fascination for wrought iron items and Chhatisgarh tribal communities are the hubnob of manufacturing exquisite wrought iron materials. Beautiful cotton sarees namely Kosa has its origin in Chhatisgarh. Kosa thread, made from a type of worm, is used ; the artisans weave and print the sarees with their own hands. Mainly the stories of poet Kabir are painted with the help of vegetable dyestuff excreted from `aal`. In nutshell the people also have a great propensity towards embracing new trends and life styles and are noted for their chasteness and compassion.

In comparision to all other states of Indian subcontinent Chhatisgarh is a newly born. However if we consider the rich heritage of its cultural proponents it can be easily vied at par with the rest of India.